Rishi Sunak has celebrated the creation of a village’s history project that showcases the enduring community spirit of the village.
Having previously visited Kirkby Fleetham Village Hall, near Northallerton, to mark the completion of its initial modernisation efforts, Mr Sunak returned to see the newly-created History and Resources room in the village hall.
The village hall extension is used to display local historical artefacts and support research and study by residents and visitors, adding a new dimension to a popular community building where a wide range of activities take place each week.
Funding for the £45,000 project included £25,000 from Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund, £9,000 from local fundraising activities and £1,000 from North Yorkshire Cllr Annabel Wilkinson using her council’s locality budget.
“It’s great to see how Kirkby Fleetham has continued to improve its village hall – an important community focus for the village,” said the Richmond and Northallerton MP.
“This new extension shows what can be achieved when a community comes together with shared purpose and determination. It’s a fitting addition to this fantastic facility, and I’m sure it will inspire pride in local history for generations to come.”
During his visit, Mr. Sunak met trustees of the village hall and villagers.
Kate Smith, a trustee, said: “Through an open heritage day in our Village Hall we quickly realised that there was a wealth of documents, knowledge and artifacts within our community that we wanted to share with each other and so the idea of a History Room was born”
“We were delighted to welcome back Rishi to see the latest developments at the village hall,” she added. “It was lovely to see his keen interest in our local history particularly the village school log book entry for 11th November 1918. The community appreciated him taking the time to speak to everyone who had come along.”
“This is a tremendous example of the enduring community strength of Kirkby Fleetham,” Mr Sunak added. “This is not just an investment in bricks and mortar but in the shared identity and pride of this village.”
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